{"id":19683,"date":"2019-12-17T08:49:23","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T08:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=19683"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:54:50","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:54:50","slug":"unite-south-yorkshire-floods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=19683","title":{"rendered":"All pulling together"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unite Community activists have teamed up with other trade unionists in Doncaster to help flood victims \u00e2\u20ac\u201c raising nearly \u00c2\u014110,000 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c after the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s indifference response.<\/p>\n

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Secretary of Unite Community Doncaster branch, Ann-Louise Bayley (pictured below), led a team made up of representatives from the Fire Brigades Union and the Doncaster Trades Council, which organised a benefit concert and as well as other fund raising activities.<\/p>\n

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\"Unite<\/p>\n

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So far they have raised more than \u00c2\u01418,500 to help hundreds of people whose homes were wrecked in the flash floods that hit South Yorkshire in early November.<\/p>\n

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Around 500 homes were flooded in South Yorkshire \u00e2\u20ac\u201c with many uninsured because of previous flooding \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and 1,200 buildings evacuated.<\/p>\n

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Bayley got involved after seeing the devastation brought to her local area.<\/p>\n

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She explained, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy house is on a hill so we were safe but suffered roof damage due to the sheer weight of the rain. From my window I could see the water on the fields rising quickly and the railway line was completely submerged. Facebook posts quickly started to show the utter carnage in the rest of Doncaster.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bParts of my village flooded and the next village, Bentley, was devastated. It soon became apparent the situation was far worse than I initially thought. Many people had no power or heating and homes were ruined. To top it off Boris Johnson said it was not an emergency. Maybe not to him but to us and others it definitely was.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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The antipathy towards Johnson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lacklustre response by flood hit members of the public was made clear when he paid a visit to the town of Stainforth, South Yorkshire, in mid-November to survey the damage.<\/p>\n

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Time and again Johnson was confronted with residents angry that he had only turned up five days after the floods and had refused to declare the situation a national emergency.<\/p>\n

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One resident shouted, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou took your time Boris.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Another told him, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve not helped us\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here today for.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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When\u00c2\u00a0UniteLive visited the area in December, people were still struggling with the aftermath of the floods.<\/p>\n

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At a mobile home site in the village of Bentley, residents\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 caravans have been gutted and their possessions lost.<\/p>\n

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One woman, who did not wish to be identified said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bEverything went. My cooker, fridge freezer, sofa, carpets, clothes, shoes, curtains and my personal possessions, including my photos and documents. It was all so sudden, we just had to leave it all.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve not moved back in properly yet, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a mattress that I sleep on, because the problem I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve having is that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to work, coming back, cleaning, decorating and then going to stay at a friend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. So instead of breaking off at odd times I just sleep on a mattress in the bedroom.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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For 10 days after the floods a number of the caravan site\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s residents slept on a converted double decker bus brought by a local homeless charity, the woman said.<\/p>\n

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She added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe nearby McDonalds let us use the toilets and the gym round the corner let us use the showers and people donated food. The help from the community and the fund raising that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been done does pick you up.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice to know that people are thinking about us and doing what they can. Especially because up until about three days after the floods the caravan site was just left: nobody from the authorities came. It was like we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been forgotten.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Another site resident, Louise Rayner (pictured below), escaped major damage to her caravan and possessions but said her husband had lost all his work tools.<\/p>\n

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\"Louise,

Louise, resident of Willow Bridge<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy husband\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s having to buy all new tools because he needs them to work. We had to strip all the carpets out, strip everything, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been devastating. But we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re getting there and everybody\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s helping each other.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Doncaster Unite branch secretary Bayley said it was this community spirit that is keeping the area going, rather than help from the government.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bPeople who had almost nothing have even less after the floods. The government has done nothing. Boris Johnson made a visit but he was not made welcome,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Bayley said.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut help has poured in from surrounding communities. Everyone has been pulling together. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what we do up here. We are just working-class people who are helping our own.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Unite national officer for food, drink and agriculture, Bev Clarkson, who lives near Halifax in West Yorkshire, also witnessed the deluge in her area.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe had a month\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rain in one day. I looked outside and the road was like a river. Because of austerity, local councils cannot afford to clear the drainage systems that should take excess water away from people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s homes.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe know that flooding will become worse and more frequent as the climate emergency increases in severity.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe new government must take action now by giving local authorities the funding they need to properly service drainage systems and by investing in the infrastructure needed to redirect, collect or dissipate flood waters so they do not create widespread chaos and destruction.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite is going to use its campaigning might to put pressure on the government to take every step possible to get ready for future inevitable floods \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the cost to families and communities. We can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop the rain \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but we can be ready to help those affected.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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The \u00c2\u01418,500 raised by Unite Community and the other trade unions will be divided between local councillors who can best direct financial assistance to flood victims in their constituencies.<\/p>\n

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If you would like to make a donation to help the flood victims in South Yorkshire please email Ren Bayley at\u00c2\u00a0ann-louise1967@hotmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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